The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1887-01-25
PUBLIC DEBTS.
Vast Sums That the Worlds
Leading Nations Owe.
The Debt Burden Easiest Upon the United
States and Germany,

were asked to publish an article on pub
lie debts expresses the belief "tlat in
proportion to ability to pay, the public
debt of the United States is smaller than
that of any Of the great nations of the
GARTH" The statement might be made
very much stronger than that.
Germany is the only one of tho great
powers of Europe which has not IL larger
debt, measuring its gross amount, than
that of the United States, and the only
one in which the actual burden of the
debt, to say nothing of ability to bear
it, is not greater than it is here. But it
may be interesting to present the facts
in regard to each country by itself, and
we take them in alphabetical order.
Since May, 1868, Austria hungary has
created no debt as Il whole, but each
kingdom has had its own budget" and
debt account. The sum OF the old debt
OF the empire and of hat of the two
Kingdoms is more thar twenty-five
hundred and fifty million dollars, and
the interest, which has to be met by tax
alton, amounts to about two dollars and
thirty cents for each person in Austria,
and to three dollars and a half in Hun
gary.
The public debt Of France is the largest
of any in the world. The consolidated
debt alone, which is by no means all Of
the debt, is almost four thousand million
dollars. The charge on account of the
public debt for this year is more than
seven million dollars for each inhabitant
of the Republic.
Germany rs u whole has but a very
small debt, scarcely more than one hun
drcd and fifty million dollars, and it has
invested funds which amount to more
than this, so that the Empire may be
said to have no debt Mt all. The several
countries Of Germany havc their own
debts, but in the case Of Prussia, which
has the largest, the obligations were
incurred chiefly i'll building railroads,
which pay II larger profit than the inter
est on the debt. To all ~intcnts, there
fore, the Germans bear no burden ut all
on account of Il public debt.
Great Britain has II great debt which,
however, bears Il low rate of interest.
The nominal capital is about thirty-scvcn
hundred million dollars, and the interest
charge is ono hundred and forty millions
which imposes an average burden Of Il
| little more than four dollars on each in
habitant Of the British Isles.
The debt of Italy is not ''capitalizcd."
1t represents an obligation to pay so
much interest every year; and this sum
amounts to three dollars and seventy
five cents a year for each subject of the
king. Nc statistics of the debts of
Spain and Turkey arc worth anything.
The government of Turkey is hopclcssly
bankrupt, and IS bound hand and foot
by its foreign debt. The last statement
Of the Spanish debt showed it to be neal
ly t~wcnty-six hundred million dollars.
Spnin pays an amount Of interest which
averages more than three dollars for each
Spaniard; and leaves some interest I'm
paid.
Russia owes a capital Of about twenty
seven hundred million dollars, and pays
about one hundred and forty-fvc mil
lions annually for interest. 1t this
amount were divided by the number rep
rescnting the whole population of the
Russian empire, in Europe and Asia, it
would make an average of one dol
lar and forty cents for every subject of
the Car.
The net debt OF tho United States at
the close of the last fiscal year, June 80,
1886, was a very little less than thirteen
hundred and ninety million dollars, and
the annual interest charged upon it was
not quite forty-ninc and and n half mil
lions. AS it Is estimated that tho pres
ent population of the country is about
.~sixty-onc millions, the yearly burden of
the debt amounts to only eighty
one cents upon each member of the COM
munity.
We may, accordingly, state it as a fact
that the actual burden of the public debt
is very far less upon each inhabitant of
the United States than it is upon n citi :
zen of any other great power in the
world except Germany; while, if ability
to bear the same burden of taxation were
to be considered, the difference would
be greater still.
Penny Educator.